Heavy rain lashes Salem district; one dies in lightning strike

Heavy rain lashed Salem district and one person died due to a lightning strike here on Friday (October 16, 2026).

On Friday around 3:30 p.m., rain began to pour in various parts of the district, and heavy rain lashed rural areas. In Salem City, rain continued until midnight at intervals. Rainwater and sewage water flowed along the Sarada College Main Road, Hasthampatti, New Bus Stand, Old Bus Stand, and Four Roads. A tree was uprooted at the Mahatma Gandhi Stadium, but no one was hurt. Rainwater also entered houses at Chinna Seeragapadi in Veerapandi panchayat.

Due to the rain, Saravanan (37), a resident of Ambedkar Nagar near Kongupatti in Kadayampatti and a farm labourer, was waiting near a tamarind tree at the Danishpet bus stop when heavy rain poured in the locality. He fainted after a lightning strike and died on the spot. The Deevattipatti police sent his body to Salem Government Hospital for a post-mortem. Similarly, in a lightning strike at Moolakadu near Mettur on Friday evening, three cows died.

In the past 24 hours that ended at 6 a.m. on Saturday (October 17, 2026), Salem district received 352.50 mm of rainfall, including 54 mm in Thammampatti, 50 mm in Kariyakovil Valvu, 47 mm in Puludikkuttai, 36.2 mm in Vazhapadi, 36 mm in Danishpet, 31 mm in Veeraganoor, 25.2 mm in Mettur, 22.7 mm in Salem, 18 mm in Gangavalli, 11 mm in Yercaud, 10.4 mm in Attur, 6 mm in Omalur, and 5 mm in Nathakarai.

Likewise, Namakkal district received 169.3 mm of rainfall, including 42 mm in Namakkal, 28 mm in Mohanur, 23.40 mm in Senthamangalam, 18 mm in Paramathi Velur, 15 mm in Kolli Hills Semmedu, 12.30 mm in Puduchatram, 10.20 mm in Mangalapuram, 10 mm in Collectorate, 5 mm in Erumapatti, 4.20 mm in Rasipuram, and 1.20 mm in Kumarapalayam.